A gas turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. Additionally, the core of the gas turbine engine general includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air is provided from the fan to an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section to the turbine section. The flow of combustion gasses through the turbine section drives the turbine section and is then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere.
More commonly, non-traditional high temperature materials, such as ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials, are being used as structural components within gas turbine engines. For example, given an ability for CMC materials to withstand relatively extreme temperatures, there is particular interest in replacing components within the combustion section of the gas turbine engine with CMC materials. More particularly, one or more heat shields of gas turbine engines are more commonly being formed of CMC materials.
However, certain gas turbine engines have had problems accommodating certain mechanical properties of the CMC materials incorporated therein. For example, CMC materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion than the traditional metal materials. Therefore, the one or more heat shields may not be attached directly to, e.g., a metallic annular dome positioned within the combustion section of the gas turbine engine, as the metallic annular dome and the CMC heatshield expand relative to one another during operation of the gas turbine engine.
Accordingly, a combustor assembly capable of attaching a CMC heatshield to a metallic annular dome would be useful. More particularly, a combustor assembly capable of attaching a CMC heatshield and other CMC components of the combustion section to a metallic annular dome would be particularly beneficial.